Moonbyul sat in her office, a cup of coffee in a hand and a file in another. She came back after three days in Madrid. The case was making progress, she could not abandon the team. That was the reason inspector Moonbyul gave.

“Byul, you could’ve just stayed in Madrid for a little while longer.” Wheein joined her in her office.

Hwasa followed closely behind, smacking her head lightly with a file. “Can’t you tell why she wants to be back?”

Moonbyul lifted her head and glared at the two young girls in front of her, but they were used to it.

“Of course I can tell.” Wheein winked at Moonbyul. “Because she missed… us.”

Rolling her eyes, she picked up the pen nearest to her and hurled it at Wheein in attempt to shut her up, but all she got in return was her signature weird laughter.

“Focus,” Moonbyul said sternly. She walked to the board with a map behind her desk and pinned up the picture of the fourth victim. Four victims with their lives cold-bloodedly taken away and she told herself that a fifth would not happen.

She took a step back and looked at the map. All the bodies were discovered in Seoul, each location not too far away from the others.

“Lee Soo Kyung, 26, body discovered at 6:21 a.m., near the forest. No traces of blood, except on the clothing.” Moonbyul pointed to the first victim. “A model, lived with her family, and according to her friends, went to clubs often.”

“Han Min Yeon, 25, body discovered at 7:32 a.m., near the mountain. No traces of blood, except on the clothing.” Moonbyul moved on to the second victim, writing down the details on the board. “A bartender who worked at the club that the first and last victim went to, and lived alone”

“Kang Hye Young, 27, body discovered at 5:59 a.m., near the Han River. No traces of blood, except on the clothing,” Moonbyul paused. She definitely saw the similarities. The head was severed, yet there was no sign of blood around the body, except on the clothes.

“The murder was committed elsewhere,” Wheein and HWasa caught on as well. “The bodies were cleaned up before being left at the places where they were discovered.”

That could be an explanation, no, it had to be. The image of the murderer calmly cleaning up the mess made her stomach sick and she could feel the coffee threatening to come back up. They were dealing with someone who had done this multiple times, and probably getting better at it.

“Businesswoman, lived with her family, a workaholic, according to her family and friends.”

Moonbyul sighed and looked at the map again. One more victim to go.

“Kwon Ye Rim, 27, body discovered at 6:01 a.m., same situation, no traces of blood except on the clothing. A model as well, lived alone, friends with the victim, went to clubs often.”

“They have nothing much in common, except for the club” Wheein looked at the profiles again.

“And the fact that somehow, they all look a little like…” Hwasa trailed off when Wheein pinched her arm to silence her. She peeked up to find Moonbyul looking at her.

Moonbyul had a small smile on her face but they had no idea what that smile meant. “Yes, Solar. I’m aware of that. That’s it. That’s the thing that linked them together.”

“You mean…” Wheein thought over what Moonbyul just said. “The murderer, he had something against people who looked like Solar?”

Moonbyul nodded. When it came to serial killers, there would always be something that drove them to continue. Hatred, or passion, or both.

He had something against people who looked like Solar… A familiar yet distant face flashed in her mind. Wheein’s eyes widened at her own ridiculous thought in her mind. That’s impossible. There are seven billion people on this earth, and many people who look alike, what are the chances?

Hwasa, oblivious to Wheein’s reaction, asked, “Byul, have you told Solar about this?”

The inspector shook her head. She did not need to know about this, at least not now.

“Then did you notice anyone strange around her?” Hwasa continued asking.

Strange… Moonbyul immediately thought of this one person. “There is someone.”

“The person who walked out with Solar at the airport?” Hwasa recalled. They looked strangely compatible, much to her dismay.

“Jung Won Il?” When Moonbyul saw him again at the airport with Solar, she finally knew why he looked familiar. He was the person with Solar when she saw her on the streets. There was this bitter feeling when she saw them together but at least she was happy. She was happy, right?

“Who?” Wheein asked, joining in the conversation suddenly when she heard the name. She went to get the car and when she was back, only Solar was there.

Moonbyul raised an eyebrow at Wheein’s reaction, and repeated the name again but slower this time. “You know him?”

“No,” Wheein replied almost immediately.

The other two in the room exchanged glances; they rarely see Wheein getting defensive.

Hwasa knew Wheein since young and this reaction could only mean one thing – she was hiding something. “You really don’t know him?”

“You know my family and friends, Hwasa. Is there anyone named Jung Won Il that you know of?” Wheein said, rather frustrated. “The name doesn’t ring a bell at all.”

Moonbyul shook her head at Hwasa, signalling her to let this pass. If she was hiding something from them, they would have to find out eventually, but not by pressuring her. Hwasa looked at her friend who was staring at the content page of the document. They grew up together, they knew everything about each other, at least Wheein knew everything about her.

“Then who is it?” Hwasa asked, bringing the topic back and sighing a little.

“Ahn Hun Sang. He claimed to be a photographer with his own gallery.” Moonbyul recalled the man in his dress shirts and camera, and his perfect appearance. Some people like him usually surprised her. Beautiful appearance, but a heart full of blemish. She related the encounter with him, and how he was always in dress shirts when she saw him. “Keep an eye on him.”

An eye for beautiful things… Beautiful… Things… Things…

–

Moonbyul stood outside the club that linked the victims together. She could feel the pulse of the music in her veins and she did not like it. Clubs were not her thing – too loud and people are too close for comfort. It was just a little past midnight and the night was definitely still young for the inhabitants of the club. She pushed open the door and the surroundings assaulted her senses. She surveyed the crowd while adjusting to the music blaring in her ears. She made her way to the bar counter and signaled for the bartender.

“Is it convenient for me to ask you a few questions?” She flashed her badge and shouted over the music, not trusting the bartender to hear her, but surprisingly, she did. She must have gotten used to obnoxious loud music playing everyday.

“How long have you been working here?” Moonbyul asked as soon as they sat down in the resting room at the back.

“About two years,” the bartender replied.

Moonbyul lined the pictures of the victims on the table. “I believe you already have officers asked you questions, but do you recognise them?”

The bartender flinched as a familiar set of pictures flashed in front of her. She had seen three of the pictures before, one of it being someone she knew, someone that was close to her. The fourth one was new, but the person on it was not. She recognised her. “Three of them are regulars, and one of them is my… friend.”

“I’m sorry,” Moonbyul said softly. This was one thing she disliked about her job – to cut open the fresh wound that people had been trying to heal. “I know this will be hard for you, but can you try to recall if there is anyone who have interacted with the four of them?”

“Probably a few people,” the bartender said. “This club is rather exclusive, people here tend to know one another.”

“Off the top of your head, can you give me some names?” Moonbyul asked.

The bartender mentioned a few names, but Moonbyul had never heard of them before, until the last name. “Sorry, who is it?”

“Ahn Hun Sang,” she repeated. “He’s a rather reputable photographer.”

Reputable photographer? That was some news to her. Moonbyul rubbed her hands together. “He knew the victims?”

“There were two models, right?” The bartender remembered their faces. They were always together in a group, and Ahn Hun Sang would be hanging out with them as well. “I think he worked with them.”

From the bartender description, he was definitely a charming man, and having women around him was not a rare sight. Indeed, a lady killer.

“Thank you for your time.” Moonbyul smiled as she stood up. That was probably enough information to give a reason to have a chat with Mr Ahn.

The bartender shook her head lightly. “It’s nothing. I just want this to end.” To have a friend disappear overnight and reappear with the fact that she was never going to come back again was just too much for her. And the person who caused that to happen could probably be someone out there right now, in the club.

“Be rest assured we’ll end this case soon. Take care.” Moonbyul left the room with the bartender and once again, the loud music was a nuisance.

She was making her way to the exit when someone collided into her. She could smell the alcohol in the person’s breath as she tried to steady her. The person was however, too familiar. “Solar?”

Hearing her name, the person lifted her heavy head. Moonbyul could see the blush on her cheeks. Solar was bad at drinking so she rarely came to such places. Seeing her here was a surprise and to see her in a drunken state was a shocker.

“Byul…” Solar mumbled. Her eyes were wandering around. “Byul…”

Moonbyul held her close by her waist. She was not sure if Solar knew that she was standing in front of her because her eyes never landed on her. She had never seen her drunk and she was at a lost. Did she come alone, or did she have company? She stood awkwardly near the entrance with Solar leaning against her, head on her shoulder, her breath hot against her neck.

“Solar…” Moonbyul patted her cheeks lightly, trying to get her attention, though her blush and slightly parted mouth were really distracting.

“Oh, there she is!” a voice exclaimed behind her, loud enough for her to hear over the music. She turned around with much difficulty and saw a sickly pale man standing there.

-

A/N: Finally found the time to finish this chapter. Updates will take a little longer from now on because work is starting to pile in. That aside, enjoy!